St Whites Day! Free Style!
by Naiira Harlow
Summary: Haru has to get the courage to give a white ribbon to his beloved water-chan, but it's not as easy as you might think. Pure fluff one-shot.


"How do you love returned?" Makoto heard the person ask but he simply couldn't believe that it was Haru. The boy had called out of the blue one night and asked this rather complex question. A few days ago they had a conversation about love. It was when some girl came up to Haru and confessed her love for him. He said he wasn't interested, crushing her.

"You should have let her down easier." Makoto had chided him.

"Why?" Haruka had blinked, not understanding. The taller male had shaken his head, rather frustrated.

"It hurts to love and not be loved in return, maybe go easier on the next one." And that had been the advice given to Haru after his first confession. However, the current topic of discussion was different in many ways as well as similar. Instead of receiving a confession he wanted to give one maybe? It didn't seem plausible. The only thing Haru had a love affair with was the water. So why was he asking this?

"Is there a reason for such a question?" He asked. For a moment there was silence over the line.

"I want water-chan to love me." Makoto almost fell over. He knew his friend was a bit eccentric but he didn't know it was this bad. Was it better to go along with him or tell him water couldn't love?

"W-well water-chan is a girl so...I guess you should be friends with her first." He tried.

"I've already done that." Haruka's monotone replied. Of course he had.

"Um...what about gifts? Signs of affection like talking to her or spending more time with her?" Makoto suggested. Haruka seemed to be contemplating these things for a moment but the green eyed boy suddenly got an idea.

"How about you get her a ribbon for St. White's day? I don't know how you'd tie it on her..." Makoto saw an image of Haru bending down over the chilled water of the pool blushing and letting a white ribbon sink under it's surface. The scene was a bit disturbing but still…

"What if she rejects me?" Haru had a lilt of fear in his voice. Was he really that afraid of something that couldn't actually answer him.

"She won't I'm sure of it."

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St. Whites day or White day is celebrated on March 14th, one month after Valentines day. On this day boys and men of all ages return the favor of gifts given to them by females a month before. A trend had erupted later for boys still in school to carry a white ribbon to school and give it to the girl they cared for the most. This was the tradition that Haruka was counting on today. Every boy in his grade came in with a ribbon tied around their wrist. He was no exception. Makoto noticed this as he walked into class.

Did his friend really expect to give a ribbon to the water? He shuddered and took his usual seat watching Haru stare out the window out at the sky. When Ama-sensei walked in her hair was already tied back with a white ribbon. People whispered to one another. As the class quieted down sensei smiled at the students.

"Happy White Day everyone! Today I expect all of you boys to be gentlemen and all of you girls to be ladies. Let's not have too much heartbreak okay?" Haruka looked up from his vigil at the window, his eyes sparkling. Makoto noticed this motion and raised an eyebrow. What was going on here exactly? A few lessons went by and still Haruka had the ribbon on his wrist. A good few girls had their eye on it only to be disappointed as he passed them by. Makoto too got a few looks as he followed his best friend up onto the roof. The others were already there. Nagisa and Rei were talking about something while Gou and Nerine sat apart giggling. Neither girl had a ribbon and both boys still had theirs. As they took their seats all eyes were on them.

"Afternoon Haru, Makoto, still have your ribbons too I see." Nerine was smiling as always, it lit up her face. Her blue-green eyes twinkled.

"And neither of you have gotten any ribbons." Nagisa butted in. Gou grinned and pulled out her bag to reveal a good few ribbons tied there. Everyone stared.

"I've gotten the loud mouths, they love giving me ribbons." She looked rather happy as she said so.

"What about you Nerine?" Makoto asked. The girl fiddled with the end of her ice blue braid. She seemed a bit shy as she shook her head.

"A few almost tried but I guess they lost their nerve. I'm not that scary am I?" She asked, pouting a bit. Makoto laughed.

"No but you are beautiful so it's probably hard to approach you if they're nervous." Nagisa threw his arms around the lovely girl making her blush. She returned the gesture though, nuzzling his hair.

"You can have my ribbon Rine-chan! I was just going to give it to a girl in my class who gave me chocolates." He began to untie the fabric from his wrist but she stopped him, shaking her head.

"You shouldn't give it to me unless you mean it Nagisa. Let that girl have it, I'm sure she'll be thrilled." Nerine told him. Her smile was a knowing one, one that said she was more aware of things than Nagisa was. He blinked in confusion but nodded in agreement anyway. Nerine was the queen of matchmaking. She was good at spotting the small details and that helped her find partners that were surely meant to be. Haruka played with the ribbon around his wrist, debating on if he should give it to Water-chan now. His eyes moved over the pool, the blue sparkling as they roved over it. It was giving him strength where before he had felt nothing but fear.

"What about you Rei? Who are you giving yours to?" Nagisa suddenly pressed the shy blue haired boy. Rei blushed looking away.

"N-nobody." He had some in mind? That surprised everyone to no end.

"Rei has a crush! Come on do I know her?" Nagisa was pressing him which made him red as a tomato.

"Don't tease him Nagi-kun." Nerine chided the younger boy which just caused Rei to practically steam in embarrassment.

"What about you Makoto? You have someone in mind for your ribbon?" Nerine asked the emerald eyed boy. He grinned.

"I might yeah, but that's a secret." Of course Nagisa was trying to whine enough to get Makoto to tell them but the boy wouldn't give it up.

"Well we all know who Haru-chan is giving his to! We'll have to fish it out of the pool after a few days." Nagisa teased. Haruka wasn't paying the least bit of attention though, his eyes were on the pool. No one saw it but sadness crossed Nerine's features. She'd grown close to the boy as of late and had hoped that maybe he returned this feeling. She'd given him chocolates on valentines day though she'd also given some to Rei, Nagisa, Makoto, and Rin so she guessed that didn't really count. His were special though. She'd gone to a lot of trouble to personalize them into the shape of dolphins with caramel filling. It had taken a great deal of time. It wasn't like she expected much, he was stoic anyway. But maybe, just maybe she had gotten her hopes up today. With a sigh she placed that usual bright smile back on her face.

"He can tie it to the filter if it's long enough, it would stay for a bit there." She tried.

"Yeah! So you gonna do it Haru…." Nagisa reached for the ribbon encircling Haruka's wrist but the boy yanked it away from his kohai's grip. It was a rather violent motion so it left everyone a bit shocked.

"I'll do it later." He muttered. It didn't really excuse the rather abrupt act but he didn't look like he was about to explain that either. A rather awkward silence fell over the group before Makoto cleared his throat.

"Well then, you hoping to get a ribbon today then Nerine?" Oh he turned the attention onto the girl to get the conversation going again. She was taking a few drinks from a juice box.

"Hmmm? Oh I suppose. I mean I didn't think I'd get any but one would be nice." Makoto did notice her furtive glance towards Haru. He smiled sympathetically. His best friend as oblivious or he'd see that Nerine was interested in him. As far as girls went he probably couldn't do any better. She loved the water like he did, put up with his refusal of emotional expression, and had the patience of a saint. For Haru this girl was perfect in every way. He wished the two would just get together already but of course Nerine was nervous and Haru was ignorant. It really was a shame.

The rest of the conversation was about club activities and they all parted ways to go to afternoon classes. When they met up for swim practice Nagisa had a huge grin on his face, Rei was blushing like an idiot, and Makoto had the same relaxed gaze on his face. The only of the four boys to have a ribbon still was Haruka. Every one figured he was going to give the white cloth to the pool at some point but as practice started he untied it only to neatly keep it on top of his towel. At no point did he try to give the ribbon to the water.

It was strange to say the least and as the club began getting out it still didn't seem like he was going to do anything. Maybe he wanted his 'private' time with the pool? Makoto shuddered a bit at that. Of course he'd have to wait until Nerine went home. She stayed around just as long as he did. So as Makoto left he looked over at the girl to make sure she was okay with staying behind as usual. She simply smiled.

"I'll make sure he gets home on time okay Makoto?" She said. He nodded, smiling back in agreement. As he left though he was a bit uneasy. What was he supposed to say? Should he warn her or did she already know about Haruka's weird habits? Little did he know that something amazing was going to happen in that short amount of time.

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Haruka waited until everyone had left. He looked over at the lane adjacent to him. Nerine was floating on her back, eyes closed and arms extended outwards from her body. Her long ice blue braid was over her shoulder, resting against her wet skin. The black one piece she wore clung to her form showing off her beautiful body, the purple stripes of this one matching his own swim suit. She had one that matched each of the boys but this one was probably the one that fit her best from what Haru could see.

That and he was rather happy about her matching him even if he'd never say it aloud. The sun was going down and it was time to get out. He had to do it now or he'd lose the courage forever. So he got out before her, going over to his towel and drying himself off before taking the ribbon in his hand. There was a splash as Nerine dove beneath the surface. She really looked like a mermaid, her legs moving as one while she twisted underneath the water. One with the water she became the most beautiful thing the boy had ever laid eyes on.

He walked over to the edge where she surfaced. She shook out her shaggy bangs and those blue-green eyes fixed on him. Her gaze moved to the ribbon and she smiled.

"Do you want to give it to pool-chan now?" She asked. He shook his head.

"It's for water-chan." He corrected her. She giggled.

"Of course, sorry about that. Do you need help?" She wondered before noticing that Haru had grasped the end of her braid. She watched in amazement as he took the white band and tied it easily around the end of her hair making a rather lovely bow. Her face lit up in astonishment. Was he...really giving it to her?

"You...it's for me?" She asked. He looked away, a light pink dusting his cheeks as he nodded. But he'd said water-chan….oh.

"Am I...water-chan Haru?" She asked him. He nodded in agreement again.

"But why?" Searching his face for an answer was futile. He managed to look her way but only just a glance.

"Because you are my water on dry land." Did he...did he really just admit that? Nerine's face lit up and she swore steam was blowing out her ears. Haruka still didn't look at her as she pushed off the side to get out. She was grinning like an idiot. The boy tried to ignore the fact that she was so close. He was sitting on the edge so she had to bend down to do what she needed to. Haru's eyes widened as he felt her soft lips press against his cheek. She pulled away quickly but he could still feel the pressure on his skin. It tingled, the place where she'd kissed and he reached up to stroke the cheek just to make sure it was real.

"Thank you Haru." She whispered close to his ear before pressing another kiss to the side of his mouth. This one was longer and it made the swimmer blush bright red. He wanted to turn, to bring her lips against his but he didn't have the courage, not yet. As she pulled away her smile made his heart flutter. In truth hers was fluttering too. She felt nothing but affection for Haru but it wasn't the time yet. With that she went towards the locker rooms, playing with the ribbon tied in her hair and biting her lip. She was his water-chan, that was more than enough for her.


End file.
